What Is The Difference Between Windows NT, 2000 And 2003 Servers?

Windows NT (Windows New Technology) is a 32-bit operating system pioneered by Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT has become the base of technology for Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The Windows NT introduced features like advanced security, administrative features, pre-emptive multitasking, and built-in networking.

The Windows NT server version as well as the client version did not support Plug and Play, a feature which was fulfilled in Windows 2000 and also in XP.  The Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition aids in clustering and can recover itself well in case of system failure.

Launched in early 2000, Win2k or Windows 2000 was a major upgrade to Windows NT. It is available in 3 server versions and one client version. Of course, it supports Plug and Play. With an interface resembling Win95/98, the Win 2000 had added features, options and dialogs. Windows 2000 has Active Directory which replaces NT's domain system and simplifies network administration. Windows 2000 is found to be more stable than its predecessor Window NT and is specialized to remove incorrect copies of DLL files when applications are installed.  The Windows 2000 Advanced Server is quite like the Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition, designed to support clustering and mechanical failover in case of a system failure. However the Windows 2000 DataCenter Server is a top server offering with enhanced clustering features.

Windows Server 2003, a server operating system introduced by Microsoft on March 28th, 2003 as the successor to Windows 2000 Server, is acknowledged by the company to be the hallmark of their Windows Server System line of business server products. It incorporates the compatible features of Windows XP. Though it is regarded as a follow-up of Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003's default installation has none of the server components enabled, to minimize the attack surface of new machines.  Further the Windows Server 2003 has compatibility features to permit even obsolete application to run with stability.  Upgrading a Window NT 4.0 domain to Windows 2000 was a time consuming task, especially when it came to dealing with the Active Directory.  Thankfully, Windows Server 2003 brought in enhanced Active Directory compatibility, and enhanced operational support for easy transition.